The 8-inch Acer Iconia W4 has a few advantages that help it stand out from a crowd of similar devices, including great battery life and enough ports to support basic productivity. It's also much better -- and less expensive -- than last year's W3 model, so it earns bonus points for that.

Cheaper and with better photo quality than its sibling, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A500's quirky design is the only real flaw in an otherwise solid entry-level model with fast Live View shooting and a useful tilting LCD.

If you're a Live View-oriented shooter who doesn't care about color accuracy, the Sony Alpha DSLR-A550's good performance and decent noise profile make it attractive for the money. Otherwise, you can find a better camera.